A very striking disconnect has become evident between the electorate of the Juan de Fuca Regional District and some of our elected representatives.
This disconnect surfaced during the long series of public hearings concerning the proposed recreational development beside the Juan de Fuca Trail and Provincial Park.
The overwhelming majority of people who spoke at these meetings were against this proposed development; only a few spoke in favor of it. Still, the majority of our local Land Use Committee (LUC) supported this scheme until a whole string of meetings demonstrated that they were almost totally isolated in their views from the vast majority of people — both local and from Victoria.
How could such a disconnect occur? Were latent feelings of environmental protection awakened by the inept manner in which these hearings were conducted?
Perhaps another explanation is valid. Perhaps some of our local aspiring politicians, realizing that ‘being green’ was popular, gave themselves a green coat of whitewash just prior to the last election. However, events have shown clearly that this coat of green was paper thin for some members of LUC.
Nov. 19 is election day. Let’s get clear cut answers from our candidates about where they stand on important issues such as the environment, and let’s hold them to their pre-election promises.
Dale W. Read
East Sooke
